Carthage Prime

by Toby Neighbors

  Tears welled up in her eyes as her hand hovered over the kill switch. She knew he would hate her for putting him on the sidelines. Yet she felt she had no choice.

  “I’m sorry, Alex,” she said.

  “Sorry for wh—”

  His voice was cut off from her headset as soon as she pressed the kill switch. Her heart was racing with worry and fear. Would he hate her? Was he cursing her name at that very moment? Nyx didn’t know and wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She still had to tell Captain Chastain what had happened.

  But before she could, Alex’s voice came over the drop ship’s speakers again. He was laughing.

  “I’m not crazy,” he said.

  The cabin of the drop ship was silent. Captain Chastain was looking directly at Nyx, who was trembling in her seat.

  “Titan team, launch.”

  Chapter 34

  In space, movement was hard to determine. It had to be relative to another astral body, be that a planet, star, or space vessel. Alex jumped from the drop ship and immediately gave his thrusters a boost. It reminded him in many ways of jumping into the zero-gravity bubble on the Republic.

  “So what’s the plan?” Ash asked. “I’ve got my controller telling me you’ve gone insane.”

  “Yeah, mine mentioned that,” Sly said. “What gives?”

  “Something happened,” Alex said.

  He could still feel the drop ship, but he had severed his link with it. A quick check showed that his newfound abilities to sync with other devices via his INC chip was still effective with his team. He could get readings on their MBS’s with a mere thought.

  “I’m not sure how, but I can sync to your battle suits now,” Alex explained.

  “How’s that?” Sly asked.

  Alex activated his friend’s stern thruster, sending him head over heels in a slow spin.

  “Like that,” Alex said.

  “Hey man, that’s not cool!” Sly shouted.

  Alex tapped into the link between Ash and her controller.

  ...return to the drop ship immediately.

  “I wouldn’t return to the drop ship immediately, Ash, no matter what that controller is telling you,” Alex told her.

  “You can hear that?” Ash asked.

  “If I try,” Alex said.

  “You mean you can take over our Titans at will?” Sly asked.

  “I don’t know,” Alex said. “I don’t think I can wrest control away from you, but I can sync with it. I was connected to both of you and even the drop ship when we were on it.”

  “You connected to the drop ship?” Ash asked. “It’s not even INC-compatible, is it?”

  “It isn’t supposed to be,” Alex said. “But every electronic device emits EM waves. I just found a way to sync up and influence things. Check your power charge.”

  “Holy crap, I’m at a hundred percent,” Sly said.

  “I’m fully charged, too,” Ash said. “How’s that possible?”

  “I transferred power from the ship to our suits,” Alex said.

  “But we weren’t connected to the ship’s power supply,” Ash argued.

  “Not in the traditional sense,” Alex said. “But the electromagnets that we used to clamp onto the hull created a bond, and I moved the ship’s excess power through her hull and into our battle suits. The Titan has a recharge capability. When we entered atmo, our suits converted the heat to energy, so I was able to do the same.”

  “And you’re not crazy?” Sly said.

  “I’m not imagining I can do these things, Sly. You can see your power levels. I activated your thrusters. It’s real, and I think if I can get close enough, I might be able to tap into the Zen Tech carrier as well.”

  “You mean, take control of an entire ship?” Ash said.

  “Possibly,” Alex said. “Let’s face it. We aren’t going to catch those battleships before they capture or destroy the inbound transport. And even if we could, taking them out isn’t likely. But if we present a threat to the carrier, maybe they’ll call the battleships back to help.”

  “Ambitious,” Ash said. “But neither plan is likely to work. I say one is as good as the other.”

  “Fine by me,” Sly said. “But taking on that carrier ship is a big risk.”

  “Which is why you aren’t going to do it,” Alex said. “I want the two of you to do a fly by, just close enough to be a threat, but not so close that you’re in danger of their weapons.”

  “And what are you going to do?” Ash said.

  “Get close enough to test my theory,” Alex said. “You distract them, and I’ll run in and see what I can do.”

  “If you get killed, can I be team leader?” Sly asked.

  “You can be team leader now,” Alex said. “I’ve got no problems with that.”

  “Nah,” Sly replied. “I like things the way they are. So don’t die.”

  “And don’t make us have to come rescue you, either,” Ash said. “There’s no need to be a hero.”

  “Roger that,” Alex said. “Just follow my lead, then. Turn to heading two-one-seven and watch for that carrier to open fire. If it does, you get out of there as fast as possible.”

  The trio split up. Alex moved as close to the planet as he could get while staying in orbit. The Zen Tech carrier ship was in sight but too far away to be a threat. Alex hoped that by staying close to the planet, he might not be seen until he was close enough to avoid the carrier’s weapons.

  The connection to Nyx was still severed, and while Alex’s new abilities allowed him to control his Titan on his own, he couldn’t replace Nyx’s instincts or the ability to have someone watching his back. He reached out with his mind and engaged the PCC using the Titan’s controls in reverse. It was a bit like jogging backwards. He had no trouble doing it, but the process felt a little bit risky.

  Alex, did you just reestablish a connection?

  He could hear her in his head and felt a little better for it. They were a team, and he didn’t like that she had tried to cut off his control of the Titan battle suit. But he couldn’t hold it against her, either. She was following orders, and his abilities were unprecedented. Still, that wasn’t going to stop him from using his newfound power to accomplish the mission at hand.

  “Hi Nyx,” Alex said. “Sorry to usurp control, but a lot is changing, and there isn’t time to explain it all.”

  What’s that mean, Alex? We’re very worried about you.

  “Don’t be,” Alex said. “We’ve got a plan. I’m going to get as close as I can to the Zen Tech carrier and see if I can connect with their ship the way I did with the drop ship.”

  That’s not possible, Alex. Their technology isn’t the same as ours.

  “Maybe not, but I can hear it. Their ship is blasting EM waves, and if I can sync with them, I can disrupt their plans.”

  Or get vaporized. It’s too risky.

  “Sly and Ash are going to create a diversion. It might be enough for the carrier to call back their escort ships,” Alex went on, undeterred by Nyx’s concern. “It’s the best chance we have. You know we’ll never catch those battleships in time.”

  There was a moment of silence. Alex didn’t know if Nyx was thinking about things or if she was discussing his plan with Captain Chastain. Either way, he wasn’t going to change his mind. Even if he was successful, he might be ruining his career by disobeying orders, yet it was the only chance they had of saving the transport and perhaps truly defeating the Zen Tech forces in the Carthage system.

  Okay, Alex. We can’t stop you. Can you at least stay in contact with us?

  “Of course,” he said. “I’m not trying to be a problem, Nyx. Please convey that to Captain Chastain. I just know this is the right course of action.”

  How can I help?

  “Turn the drop ship this way.”

  We don’t have weapons on this vessel, Alex. It’s more of a passenger shuttle than a military-grade drop ship.

  “Yeah, I know. But the Zen Tech people don’t. We need
to make them feel threatened so that they call the battleships back to defend them.”

  I’ll see what I can do.

  He wished they could all understand that he was trying to do the same thing; he wanted to see what he could do and how far his new abilities would take him. It wasn’t pride or insanity, but merely the discovery of a new weapon. His mind had become more powerful than his Titan battle suit or the weapons on the battleship. If he could disrupt an enemy ship using his Implanted Neural Controller, he could save lives by ending a dispute before shots were even fired.

  The Zen Tech carrier ship was still nearly a hundred kilometers away, but the EM waves were strong. Alex reached out with his mind, trying to find a way to connect with the rival vessel. Since getting his INC, he had trained himself not to hear every EM wave that he came into contact with. The cacophony of noise from every electrical device around him would drive anyone insane. It was like listening to an orchestra with a thousand instruments all playing different music at the same time. The waves coming from the Zen Tech carrier were loud but had a completely different cadence than the Ahzco devices. They sounded like out-of-tune pianos, and it took him several minutes to find the pattern in the noise and adjust his mind to it.

  Alex, are you okay?

  “Yeah, just trying to adapt,” he said.

  He was less than fifty kilometers from the carrier and well within range of their weapons when things finally started to make sense in his mind.

  Ash and Sly are drawing some interest. The carrier is tracking them, but I don’t think they’ve noticed you yet.

  “Good,” Alex said through clenched teeth.

  It felt like he was trying to plug into a recharge line from fifty kilometers away. It was too difficult, and he knew he needed to get closer.

  “I just need a little more time.”

  You’re in the danger zone. If they pick you up on their radar, you’ll be an easy target.

  “I know, but I’ve got to get closer.”

  You’re forty klicks from their position. Captain Chastain is moving the drop ship toward you. The battleships are still moving toward the transport. They’re not feeling threatened by us.

  Alex wanted to curse his bad luck, but he knew it wouldn’t help. He had to set his emotions aside. Fear would only cloud his mind, and anger wouldn’t get him connected to the carrier any faster.

  He felt a thrill as he began to pick up snatches of identifiable data from the Zen Tech ship. It was like seeing a city through a dense fog that was slowly breaking up.

  “I think it’s working,” Alex said.

  You’re thirty klicks away. Ash and Sly are turning back.

  Alex remembered the first time he had successfully synced his INC chip to a device. The feeling had been small but solid, like bringing two magnets together, one in each hand, and feeling them jump together with a snap. The connection with the Zen Tech ship was just as solid, only on a much larger scale. His mind seemed to expand when he connected with the drop ship and his fellow Titan operators, but the carrier was a huge vessel with more systems than Alex was prepared for. It was like trying to catch a thousand balls that had all been thrown toward him at the same moment. For a few seconds, he felt like his mind might rip apart. It was too much information and too many things to decipher at once, but with each second he felt the pressure back off. His mind was reeling with new information. He could feel the Zen Tech carrier’s weapons systems tracking Ash and Sly. The radar was locked on the drop ship. Threat assessments were being run. The ship was on high alert.

  “Nyx, take flight controls,” Alex said.

  Are you okay, Alex? You sound stressed.

  “It’s a lot of information,” he replied. “But I’m in.”

  The Zen Tech battleships were standing by to turn back and help. There were two more companies of operators on board, ready to launch toward the planet. He could feel the entire vessel’s massive array of systems, from propulsion to life support. Better still, he could control them. He sent word to the battleships to turn back and return to orbit.

  “Take me right to their hull,” Alex told Nyx.

  Won’t they see you?

  “It doesn’t matter now,” he said. “I have complete control.”

  Chapter 35

  They did see him. Radar picked up the Titan suit immediately. He was still twenty kilometers away, a direct threat. Alex felt the ship’s computers tracking him, formulating a firing solution for the starboard bow laser cannon. He even felt the big gun accumulating power. At short range, even with the Titan suit’s armor, he would simply vanish. The big laser blast would reduce him and the MBS to atoms.

  Alex, they’re preparing to fire on you, Nyx warned him.

  The warning wasn’t necessary. Alex shut down the entire weapons system on the Zen Tech carrier as easily as blinking his eyes. It was almost involuntary. What Alex couldn’t hear were the panicked voices on board the ship, unless they were picked by the communication officer’s microphone. He heard indecipherable shouting in the background as the comms officer questioned the battleship commanders who had changed course and were returning to the carrier in orbit.

  “It’s all good,” Alex said. “Prepare to connect me to their hull the same way you did with the drop ship.”

  Okay.

  “Titan team, return to the drop ship,” Alex ordered.

  “Yes, team leader,” Sly said.

  “You okay, Alex?” Ash asked.

  “Never better. Nyx, can you connect me with Captain Chastain?”

  She’s on the command channel of your com-link. I’m activating it now.

  Alex couldn’t deny the fact that he needed help. The Zen Tech carrier’s systems were so vast that it took all his focus to control them and to keep track of what the crew was doing to discover what had happened to their weapons. He was grateful for Nyx and excited at the same time by the incredible power he was suddenly able to control.

  “Sergeant Evans, what is your sit rep?” Captain Chastain asked. He could hear her through the Titan’s tiny but well-designed helmet speakers. It sounded different to him than the flow of information being poured directly into his brain.

  “I’m closing on the Zen Tech carrier Yomi. I have full control of the ship’s systems, Captain. I’ve shut down their weapons and recalled the battleships.”

  “You’re sure?” Captain Chastain asked.

  “Positive, Captain. I can shut down their artificial gravity or even their life support systems,” Alex said. “I can overload their fusion reactor, deactivate their escape pods, flood the ship with carbon dioxide, or send them on a course straight toward the system star.”

  There was a moment of silence. Alex knew that over the command channel, everyone could hear him—even the operators and controllers on the planet below if the signal was strong enough.

  “And you’re controlling their ship with your INC?” Chastain asked.

  “The same way we control our battle suits,” Alex said.

  “Can you patch me through to their commander?”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  The connection was easy enough. Communications from ships to planets all utilized the same technology. It was only the frequencies that were different. Alex adjusted the Yomi’s com frequency so that they picked up the Ahzco command channel.

  “You’re patched into the Yomi’s bridge, Captain,” Alex said. “They can hear everything on the command channel.”

  “Zen Tech carrier, Yomi, you are under Ahzco control. Please state your name and rank, commander.”

  There was a pause, then a new voice spoke up.

  “This is Admiral Li, to whom am I speaking?”

  Li’s voice was full of trepidation. Alex couldn’t feel the tension on the bridge of the Yomi, but he could imagine it.

  “This is Captain Chastain of the Ahzco CDF. You are in violation of the Free Trade Association’s guidelines for planetary operations. Your invasion forces have been destroyed, and we now have control of
your ship. You are hereby ordered to leave this system forthwith and cease all attempts to thwart Ahzco operations.”

  Another pause. Alex couldn’t hear anything over the ship’s communication channel, which the officer had wisely muted. From the Yomi’s radar, which was much more powerful than anything Ahzco had in the system, Alex noticed the Zen Tech freighter creeping around from the dark side of the planet. It was coming toward the Ahzco drop ship from behind.

  Alex switched his own com channel so that he could speak to Ash and Sly without being heard by the officers on the bridge of the Yomi. Dividing his concentration between his own battle suit and the huge array of systems on the rival ship was difficult, but not impossible, as long as he didn’t do anything too complicated.

  “Titans, the Zen Tech freighter is approaching the drop ship from her blind side,” Alex said.

  “I see it,” Ash said.

  “It shouldn’t be armed, but I wouldn’t count on that,” Alex said. “I’m guessing Nyx is already warning the captain. Stand by for orders.”

  “Roger,” Sly said.

  The Yomi was a huge ship. Alex had closed in to within a few hundred meters. He wasn’t monitoring his battle suit’s systems, but he could tell that Nyx had slowed his progress. She needed to get him close, but not so close that he would crash into the ship. He switched over to his private channel that he shared only with Nyx.

  “You get that?”

  I did. The Captain is giving Ash and Sly orders to fend off the freighter, but she wants Admiral Li to call the ship off first. She’s waiting for them to respond.

  “How close are we to their ship?”

  About a hundred meters. This is extremely hard without visuals.

  “You don’t have visual feed on your PCC?”

  No, and I’m using the drop ship’s radar.

  “I have faith in you, Nyx. Get me on that ship.”

  Before she could reply, Admiral Li came back online.

  “We do not recognize your claim to Carthage Prime or the system’s space,” Li said. “Your forces are outnumbered and outclassed. Surrender now and your operators will be spared.”

  Captain Chastain responded immediately.